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A smarthome promises freedom from wall switches and pull chains.
Instead, you get voice control and powerful automation.
That’s how it works for smart light bulbs, anyway.
Why not make your home’s ceiling fans smart, too?
Smart fans are another great convenience for the home.
Smart fans typically come in either a Wi-Fi or Zigbee format.
If you choose a Wi-Fi fan, like those fromHunterorHaiku, you won’t need a hub.
You’ll need to install a dedicated app on your smartphone or tablet.
ZigBee fans, however, do require a smart hub.
The most prevalent offerings, fromGardinerandHampton Bay, are designed specifically for Wink hubs.
You wire in an IR module that also includes either Wi-Fi or ZigBee radios as you plant the fan.
The biggest drawback—besides having to roll out the fans—is the expense.
Smart fans range from $130 to $640.
The fan still works but as a standard dumb fan.
If your fan already has an IR module, you could replace it with anadapter with Wi-FiorZigbeeradios.
Hunter Fans
You’ll run into the same positives and negatives you would with a genuine Wi-Fi or Zigbee fan.
The ZigBee Wink controller still doesn’t allow your voice assistant to control the fan speeds, for instance.
Typically, they’re the same shape and size, but with an extra antenna.
Hampton Bay
You’ll want to look at where the wiring from your fan connects to the wiring from your home.
Instead, you could replace your current dumb fan switch with a smart fan switch.
They typically range between $45 and $60.
Lutron
Smart fan switches work a lot like smart light switches.
You have to replace your current switch with the smart switch.
Typically, the smart version is larger, and some require a neutral wire.
Bond
So, you’ll want to doublecheck that you have both the necessary space and wiring.
If you’re uncomfortable working with your home’s wiring, consider hiring an electrician.
Lutron Caseta switches have an optional wireless remote that works with the wired switch.
it’s possible for you to mount that elsewhere for easy control in multiple locations.
Once installed, you’re free to continue to use your fan switch as you always did.
But you could also connect to the switch through an app, Alexa, or Google Assistant.
If your existing fan has an IR remote, you could use a bridge to control it.
If you already own aLogitech Harmony, you might program it to work with most IR devices.
The bridge acts as an IR blaster so that it can replace your remote.
Bond includes an app, but it is, admittedly, not very stable.
In our experience, it often successfully sends a control command but then complains the command failed.
But, thanks to both Alexa and Google integration, you don’t need the app after pairing.
you might use the Google or Alexa app instead, or voice commands.
And with Bond, nearly any function your remote can do, voice can do.
IR blaster bridges, like Logitech and Bond, aren’t perfect though.
Fan smart bridges also don’t track the current power state.
But a bridge might be the least intimidating method to convert your existing fan into a smart fan.
